Bill O’Brien emphasizes special teams as path to roster for undrafted rookies

Pro Football Talk | May 8

It’s not easy for undrafted players to make it onto an NFL roster. But they can, and more than a few do.
The key for many, as explained on Saturday by Texans coach Bill O’Brien, is carving a niche on special teams.
“I would say that special teams is the main way that most of the skill players, young skill players, can make the team,” O’Brien told reporters during the team’s rookie minicamp. “That’s probably the main way. Last year, if you look at our 53-man roster, at the end of the year we had 18 guys on that roster that were undrafted in their careers — 18 guys — and a number of those guys I would tell you made our team based on special teams. That’s something that we really emphasize. We have three special teams meetings per day during this camp. [Special teams coordinator] Larry [Izzo] in the first team meeting, he speaks to the whole team about the importance of special teams. He talked to these guys today about a guy like Steve Tasker, who when he came out he was a 14th-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills and ended up probably being one of the greatest special teams players of all time. Special teams is very, very important.”